Ephemeral: The Drabble Sessions
by SomeoftheFame
Summary: A series of writing sessions focused on brief stories inspired by abstract themes or prompts that won't take very long to read.
1. XXIV - Sensitized

**Disclaimer:** All characters that may appear in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei respectively.

 _Drabbles are stories written off a theme or prompt that adhere to a limited word count, allowing them to be read quickly.  
_ _ephemeral |əˈfem(ə)rəl|  
_ _adjective |_ _lasting for a very short time_

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 **Ephemeral: The Drabble Sessions  
XXIV - Sensitized  
**

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Sailor Moon suddenly became conscious of every inch of her body. She pulled her legs in under her, folding them at the ankles off to the side. She couldn't help it that it seemed she was destined to be the damsel in distress for the rest of her life, but she could play the role to the best of her ability. She pulled her gloves back up her arms, pulled at the wrinkles in her skirt, finger combed down strands of her hair and adjusted her tiara. All the while aware that his eyes were on her.

The creature above her began to stagger back, its beady eyes flicking in its sockets. It must have noticed too. She didn't bother searching for him anymore; he'd already seen her, and that thought alone sensitized her. Her blood boiled and despite the heat she felt rising under her clothes, her flesh still raised into gooseflesh. A halo of heat ran around her forehead and started a ring of sweat below her hairline. Her muscles strained to keep up her unnatural pose as her mind ran through the possibilities.

Was he in a position to see her from above? Could he see the full display she'd put her body into for him? Was he standing on her sides, could he tell she was straining to keep her spine bent, despite the twinge of strain in the small of her back? Would he approach from behind?

Footsteps vibrating across the floor, his scent nestling down into her lungs, and his voice echoing through the hall. The mere thought of his arrival sent icy pricks of sensation up her back and caused her to shudder. Was he watching now, or was his attention on the criminal? Could he tell she was playing a part just for him? Did he know the idea of his appearance set fire to her loins?

The rose made her hyperaware.

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 _This will be a 100 theme challenge and a test of my ' ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space' as the drabble definition says. I don't know how interesting or meaningful these will be to anyone besides myself, as I plan to use personal experiences as inspiration, but nevertheless I hope they are enjoyable. I do intend to complete all 100 themes, which I created myself. I don't know if I could call it a challenge, but if anyone is interested in taking it up for themselves the full list of themes for the challenge can be found on my profile._


	2. LXII - Say Hey

**Disclaimer:** All characters that may appear in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei respectively.

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 **Ephemeral: The Drabble Sessions  
** **LXII - Say Hey**

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"Usagi, it's four in the morning."

"I know." replied Usagi, a little too eagerly.

She sat at the head of her bed, knees pulled to her chest with a fleece blanket over her feet, shielding them from the shock of cold air pushing through her window. She tightened her grip on the phone as she looked to the window, curtains pushed aside from the glass and opened ajar, just enough to let in the night air mixed with the scent of rain. The aroma of artificial chemicals on the ground being turned into vapor by the natural rainfall created a potent mixture, a heady scent that wafted through the window. The sound of rain falling on the house was often a distraction from sleeping, but hearing the uninterrupted sound of raindrops pelting the ground was soothing and oddly hypnotic.

"It's raining." Usagi said, after realizing how much silence had passed on the line.

"Yeah. It's raining here too." Came Mamoru's groggy reply.

Usagi imagined him in bed, the sheets falling from his body as he rolled over to the sound of his bed springs groaning. She pictured the window above his bed, his tired oceanic eyes staring out into the storm.

"We're still on for later today, right?"

"Yes!" Usagi replied quickly.

"I'll talk to you then, okay?"

"Okay." Usagi hunched over and rested her head against her knees as she held the phone tighter to her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I just wanted to say hey.

Mamoru let out a soft snort through the phone and Usagi listened to his bed respond to the shifting of his weight. "Hey."


	3. XLV - Sea

**Disclaimer:** All characters that may appear in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei respectively.

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 **Ephemeral: The Drabble Sessions  
** **XLV - Sea**

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Usagi and Mamoru sat in a window seat at a local café, cooling drinks placed between them on the table. Usagi had propped her arms onto the table several minutes ago and had kept her gaze squarely fixed in Mamoru's face the entire time.

Mamoru took a sip from his cup and cleared his throat, growing uncomfortable being the focus of Usagi's undivided attention in such a manner. "Why do you keep staring at me, Usako?"

"It's your eyes." Usagi said, so quietly it was practically inaudible.

"Yeah, what about them?" Mamoru asked skeptically as he rubbed at the corners of his eyes. He knew he'd washed his face this morning, what could she have been staring at so intently?

"They're so blue, so deep." she breathed.

Mamoru flushed and made it a point to turn away from her completely. "You have blue eyes too. My eyes aren't anything special." he replied as he looked out the café window. Thinking of her eyes sent his own eyes rolling up to the clear blue of the sky.

"Yes they are." Usagi said, willing for him to turn back. "When I look at then, I feel like I might drown."

And as if wishing for it was enough, Mamoru turned back.

The moment his gaze fixed onto hers, two waves crashed against each other. She learned from Ami the colored ring in the eye was called the iris, and that despite its appearance it's actually flat. But surely there had to be an exception to that natural law. If there was to be an omission to that rule of the human anatomy, Mamoru's eyes had to be it. How could she become lost in unfathomable depth of his eyes, eyes that glimmered like sapphires under light or a wide wavering sea under the summer sun, if they were just flat? How could she lose her breath under the crush of waves during the endless search into their ridges and spaces if they were just rings?


	4. XCI - The One

**Disclaimer:** All characters that may appear in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei respectively.

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 **Ephemeral: The Drabble Sessions  
** **XCI - The One**

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"I've had it!" Usagi wailed as she stormed into her bedroom. "I've taken all I can and I refuse to be made a fool of anymore!"

A spot of obsidian on Usagi's bed uncurled as Luna stretched out of her slumber. "What's wrong, Usagi?"

"That smug jerk, Mamoru!" Usagi snapped as she paced the floor. "I'm sick of him teasing me about my grades, the way I eat, everything!" Fury burned in Usagi's eyes as they fell upon a framed photo of Mamoru sitting on her dresser. Usagi stomped towards the frame, snatched it off the dresser and began fiddling with the back. "I'm throwing this in the trash, or maybe I should burn it!" she cried as yanked the photo out.

"Are you sure that's a good move? I know that's your favorite picture." Luna reminded as she continued to stretch out.

"I'll just replace it with a picture of a cuter boy!" Usagi retorted. "There are plenty of hunky guys in the city, I don't need this one. Do you think papa will let me borrow a lighter?"

"That won't work." Luna said as she sauntered to the edge of the bed and took a seat.

"What are you talking about? Fire burns paper, even I know that."

"No, no." the cat sighed. "You won't get over Mamoru by finding someone else. You won't even be able to find someone else you like enough."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Luna." Usagi said as she continued to pace the length of her floor, her eyes locked on Mamoru's smiling face.

"Okay, fine, I'm wrong." Luna said in fake surrender. "But before you and Minako start a feminist group against men, think about all the things you and Mamoru have gone through. Think about the fact that you care for him even though he teases you. His teasing nature isn't something new, Usagi, you knew this the day you met him. I don't want to tell you you have to put up with him mocking you, but I don't think you'll find someone you care more about because despite his flaws you've stuck around. Not to mention you two fell in love in a past life. If you ask me I'd say you two are destined to be together. He's the one, Usagi."


	5. LXXXIV - Goodbye

**Disclaimer:** All characters that may appear in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei respectively.

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 **Ephemeral: The Drabble Sessions**

 **LXXXIV** \- **Goodbye**

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Usagi curled up into a tight ball on her bed, ignoring the blaring sound of her alarm, and pressed her head to the bed as her body lurched with her violent sobs. Usagi's fingers stretched out into the sheets and gathered handfuls of the fabric as she took in a pitiful amount of air, finding it hard to even breath.

The loss of Mamoru's love had done this to her, left her growing weaker with each passing hour since he said 'goodbye' and left her standing in the rain. She wished she could have done something to show him how much he meant to her, expressed how much him leaving her hurt, maybe then he would have understood how much power she gave him, how much she loved him.

If she could have voiced the feeling of a void opening up in the bottom of her stomach, the thought that any second the ground might shatter beneath her, that the sky might fall, or how lost she felt in the absence of his kiss, would it have been enough to make him turn back around?

She didn't know how she'd face another day without him. She woke up early now, in time to receive a brief call before he headed to class, but what would the day be like without hearing his too-cheerful voice in the morning? What was school but the thing she hated most without the reward of seeing him after the last bell? Without realizing it her days had become molded around Mamoru, talking to him, seeing him, the relief of forgetting her problems once she fell into his arms.

Last night she expected some kind of death; a necrosis of her mind, body, and soul, to follow her into her dreams and take her away in her sleep. A silent killer that would crawl beside her in bed, littered with tissues, and rest its skeletal head on her tear stained pillow and ease her into the afterlife to spare her the pain of a broken heart.

She knew one thing for sure, that contrary to how she felt, she wasn't dead.


	6. I - Exercise

**Disclaimer:** All characters that may appear in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei respectively.

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 **Ephemeral: The Drabble Sessions  
**

 **I - Exercise**

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Usagi remained still as the wind around her picked up before she pushed herself up on the tips of her toes. Raising her arms above her head, extending her fingers to the sky, Usagi stretched out her body.

"Woo!" Usagi yelled as she began pump her arms, using them to cut through the air as she jogged in place. "I'll prove everyone wrong and run a mile in no time flat!"

As she set her sights on the stretch of concrete in front of her, visualized herself sprinting down it, the feel of her sneakers, a size too small, hitting the pavement, she her the sound of footsteps approached from behind. She turned in time to see a blur of color rush past her.

The world spun and before she knew it she'd made contact with the sidewalk, but it wasn't her shoes as much as it was her bottom. She remained there for a minute, staring at the ground ahead of her. Part of her was stunned and the other was unsure of how she ended up on the ground. She continued to stare blankly at the ground when she noticed a pair of shoes approaching and a shadow casting itself over her.

"Why are you on the ground?" From above her came the deep and familiar voice of Mamoru Chiba, his body moved between her and the sun, his shadow darkening on her.

She opened her mouth for a response, but found she didn't really have one. Instead she took his hand once he held it out for her and was instantly hoisted off the ground, her wobbly legs forced under her.

 _Wow!_

Usagi's crystal blue eyes went into overdrive taking in Mamoru's body. Sweat lingered on his skin and his hair, black as pitch, hung damply around his forehead. She picked up the faintest hint of mint toothpaste as Mamoru exhaled, his bare chest heaving with each gulp of air he took in. Her eyes trailed to his abdomen where a pack of well-defined muscles were coming in and to a pair of lime green shorts that hung off his hips.

"It's not polite to stare," Mamoru said as he made a show of stretching out, leaning from side to side and stretching his arms overhead.

Usagi blinked several times before she swatted her hands at him. "I was not staring, as if!" Usagi turned her swatting hand on herself, suddenly feeling very flush. "I'll have you know I was looking for my cat, she ran off."

"Did you find her?" Mamoru stood up straight and ran a hand down his body.

"Would you leave me alone?" Usagi scoffed and crossed her arms, turning away from him.

"Fine, but here, you might find your cat while you watch me run away," Mamoru said.

"Psshh!" Usagi pursed her lips, but couldn't help to peek at Mamoru as he turned and started jogging off down the sidewalk, at the sight of his butt in his jogging shorts.


End file.
